JOHANNESBURG -- Oscar Pistorius will be back in the glare of public scrutiny for the first time in months when he appears at a court hearing ahead of his murder trial Tuesday.

The hearing will launch the next chapter of the sensational case that transformed the double-amputee Olympian from a smiling inspiration to a sobbing suspect facing a life sentence in prison if convicted of killing his girlfriend.

There have been only two reported sightings of Pistorius since he was granted bail on Feb. 22, just over a week after millions were stunned by the images of him leaving a police station on Valentine's Day after he was arrested and charged for killing Reeva Steenkamp.